Savvy Marketers Know When to Decline Business

“I can’t spend money advertising something I know I can’t sell … It’s not worth it to me. Advertising is way too expensive.”

From Agents Balk at Overpriced Homes. The Record, May 7, 2008.

That quote is from a real estate agent who can’t convince some prospective clients to lower their home prices to a realistic level.

I bet other solo marketers, inside and outside of real estate, face similar dilemmas with clients they represent.

How do you persuade them to lower their prices to encourage offers? The answer, as pointed out by agents in the article, is that in most instances you can’t. Accepting them as a client won’t help either.

“If I have to show that house 165 times before I get an offer, that’s 164 times I could have been doing something else…”

The practice of marketing isn’t made easy by inflated prices in an economy where neither clients nor buyers will budge, so it’s okay to turn down this type of business.

There’s a flip side to this situation that may help you fare well.

One of my solo business friends is facing this type of industry-related problem. What’s her secret to capitalizing in this economy? She orders specialized reports on businesses from county agencies.

None of these owners have requested her support, but they still may be interested. She mails them a pre-printed letter to gauge their interest, and she goes after business from leads generated by those letters.

Her business is thriving because rather than pursue people with inflated expectations, she’s profiting from firms that are ready to do business.

I applaud marketers who bypass prospects due to foreseeable problems. Isn’t that what you do?